万花筒 2011-01-14&01-16 海地地震一周年

 A year ago today, Haiti was hit by a devastating¹ earthquake. More than 200,000 people died. millions more were left homeless. 12 months later, despite an outpour of aid,reconstruction² has been slow, NBC’s Mara Schiavocampo is in Port-au-Prince this morning. Mara, good morning to you.

 

Well, good morning, Matt. Today has been declared a national day of mourning here. With banks,schools and government offices closed to commemorate³, with devastating tragedy. The challenges to rebuilding the city are enormous. That earthquake didn't last very long but it changed countless⁴ lives forever.

 

This was the scene in Port-au-Prince one year ago today. Hours after devastating earthquake leveled parts of the city. And this is the scene today, virtually unchanged. The presidential palace still crumbled⁵, piles of rubble⁶ just as they fell. These are tombs now, countless bodies still inside.

 

“Are you satisfied with the pace of progress?”

 

“No, but I think it has been some real progress.”

 

An estimated 800,000 homeless continue living in tent cities . That’s below a million for first time since the quake but still far too many.

 

“Every now and then I cry.” She says, “I have nothing at all. My friends give me food, I don’t even have scraps⁷.”

 

The future looks bleak⁸, they have nowhere to go.

 

“Basically, everyone here was still in our camp is here because they have no other opportunity.”

 

Unlike last year, now they lived with the threat of cholera⁹ which is already claimed 3651 lives. Among those trying to rebuild their lives, new NPTs.

 

An estimated 2,000 people lost limbs crushed by falling debris¹⁰.

 

“Everything single one of this represents a person.”

 

“This is just a small percentage of a number of people in Haiti that have limb-lost.”

 

Three-year-old XX(A girl's name) lost her mother and her leg just as she was learning to walk one year ago. Now she takes her first step with the prosthetic.

 

XX(Name too) lost her home,her husband and her leg. Now, she’s walking again.Like so many others reclaiming¹¹ her life, one step by the time.

 

Now this country could be facing even more turmoils¹² in the coming weeks. The result of the disputed presidential election are expected soon and many feared they could be lead to widespread and  violent protest in capital just one more obstacle to reconstruction, Matt.

 

Thank you very much, Mara Schiavocampo in Haiti for us this morning.

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

6 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

7 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

8 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

9 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

10 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

11 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

12 turmoils   

n.混乱( turmoil的名词复数 )；焦虑

参考例句：

• The political turmoils of the 1930s were dark days for the Spanish people. 对西班牙人民来说，30年代的政治动乱是苦难的岁月。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句